The Origin of Arcane

The winter in Solo City is very cold.

Especially in late winter and early spring, the coldest time of the year.

A layer of fine sand is carried in the strong wind from the Gobi, hitting people like countless small knives.

If it is blown outside for a night, even wearing two layers of leather clothes will become a sieve, let alone a thin jacket. Every morning, it is normal to find a few dead people with strange smiles on their faces.

It is possible that he drank too much rum, passed out on the way, and froze to death.

There are also homeless people.

There are also deserters who escaped the chaos of war.

This year, a lot of people died of freezing. Every day at dawn, there would be corpse collectors dragging two-wheeled carts, randomly throwing these unknown corpses together, and dragging them to the corpse pit outside the city.

If you meet a kind-hearted corpse collector, maybe you can get a few handfuls of dust to cover them. If they are numb and cold, just throw them there in the open air, and they will become food in the stomachs of those wild wolves and dogs without waiting until night.

When Wendell went out to dump the black fire slag, a corpse truck happened to pass by his door. Seeing several figures that hadn't fully grown up on it, he couldn't help but cursed: Scream!

The great rebellion caused by the simultaneous defeat of a large number of nobles and nobles has subsided, but its sequelae are far from over.

There are still a large number of refugees stranded in big cities like the capital city of Sauron, not because they don't want to return to their homeland, but because although there are no major wars, small wars have never stopped.

Some lords and nobles who were not completely wiped out became thieves after exile, picking quarrels and provoking troubles everywhere.

The territory directly under the Duke of Faerun has nearly doubled, and the military strength is stretched, and the situation is very embarrassing.

If too many troops are used, it is easy for the opponent to take advantage of the loopholes and lose the unstable city just laid down.

If there are too few troops, they will go out to deliver food to others. In desperation, they can only guard the castles and cities, and let them harm the people in those remote places.

The road is not peaceful, there are many kinds of bandits and robbers, most of them are formed after the aristocratic private soldiers fled. They have no place to make a living, so they can only make a living by robbery.

In previous years, if encountering such a thing, Wendell said that he would not be able to lend a helping hand. Although his ability was limited, if he could save one death, he would be worthy of the Lord of Truth's gift to him.

However, the impact of this year's war is too great, and his small business can't be maintained. The family's food and drink are problematic, so how can he be able to help others.

Fortunately, before winter, he found a new job, helping a big businessman dig black flint outside the city. After a day of hard work, he not only got three pounds of coarse grain, but also five or six coppers for wages.

In such a difficult year, such wages can be regarded as the price of conscience. Even if digging black flint is hard work, and it is overtime every day, it can take twelve or three hours, and Wendell is content with it.

This was done through a relationship. There are countless people out there who want to get this job but have no way out.

As for whether the black flint dug by the big businessman was transported to the Andes Mountains to trade with the Andes people, Wendell should not care about it. He only cares about whether the daily salary can be paid on time. , their whole family will starve together.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing happened yesterday. The food truck had an accident on the road. I heard that it was targeted by those damn thieves. Fortunately, the guards accompanying the team were pretty good. They didn't let the thieves succeed. A small amount of food was delivered, but the convoy's journey was delayed. It was already midnight when they rushed back to the mine, and the food could not be delivered on time.

Fortunately, the miner also has a conscience, knowing that everyone counts on a day's wages to survive. According to the 10% premium of the market grain, the wages are paid in copper. If this is done in peacetime, most people will be happy.

However, after a year of turmoil, a large amount of land was barren. Commander Man Yu himself was not a major producer of grain. Even in a good year, there was still a large shortage of grain, and a large part of it needed to be transported thousands of miles from the Asia Minor Plain.

This kind of abnormal festival, the price of grain is rising steadily. It is no exaggeration to describe it as rising every day. Today is a 10% premium, and tomorrow may not even be able to buy 90% of today's grain.

The key is that there is a price but no market. Those lords and nobles who have the most food have black hearts. In order to search for more wealth, the food released every day is very limited.

They are very experienced in this. They will not let the people starve to death, which will arouse a lot of public grievances, which is not good for their rule, and they will not let everyone eat enough, so that some people will buy high-priced black-hearted food.

When Wendell came back from the cold wind yesterday, it was already dark, let alone cheap food, even high-priced food, he couldn't buy it.

Fortunately, there is a virtuous housewife at home. When life is going well, she always picks out a little grain from the corner of her mouth to keep. Last night, the whole family had a full meal of porridge. Although the bottom is clear, there are only a handful of grains in it. It can only temporarily trick the stomach, but it is better than drinking a stomach full of water and shaking around.

But the stomach is not so easy to deceive, especially after a day of heavy work, the gurgling stomach woke him up before the cock crowed. Unlucky thing, this made his already bad mood even heavier.

The strong rice aroma made him a little immobile, and he knew without asking, that the smell came from the weird neighbor's house who had just moved in less than three weeks.

The reason why the term weird was given to the other party was because the other party's behavior was completely beyond Wendell's understanding.

After all, the other party was in the same business as him, and they were also in business, but the other party's business was unheard of, such as the name of the other party's shop - medical clinic.

He knew all three words and the meaning of each word, but when they were connected together, he was a little unintelligible.

After observing for nearly a week, I realized that feelings are a place to heal people, but isn't that the job of church priests and monks in monasteries?

What's even more inexplicable is that the other party actually opened a restaurant next to the medical center. The reason why they call it a restaurant instead of a tavern is because the other party sells all kinds of food, supplemented by drinks, which is completely reversed from the tavern.

However, this also steals the business of the tavern in a disguised form. Recently, there are always some dubious people wandering around, picking quarrels and provoking troubles, which are provoked by the other party.

However, there are only a handful of people who really dare to come to the door. After all, when this kind of food is a commodity that is in short supply, they can still do related business. If they don’t have a solid background and no one believes it, the source of food is a big problem.

It is commendable that the food made by this restaurant is really good. Whenever they start to make a fuss, the whole street is filled with a strong smell of food, which makes people move their index fingers. Everyone comes out of it The guests are full of praise, and the price is relatively fair, just follow the grain market.

Wendell hesitated at the entrance of the restaurant, gritted his teeth, and pushed the door in. He had to rush to work, and he couldn't wait for his family to buy the food, but he was currently engaged in high-intensity physical work, although because of If he can read and write a little, the mine head will give him a little preferential treatment, but it is relatively limited.

If you go to work hungry and don’t stick to the dark, it will be terrible. Without food and wages, it means that you will have to go hungry tomorrow, and then return empty-handed. He still understands this vicious circle. Today is the Harvest Festival , Spend a few more coppers and admit it.

The area of ​​the restaurant was larger than Wendell had imagined. Two or three surrounding houses had been opened up. There were five log tables and thick log benches on both sides, so it would not be a problem to squeeze a hundred or ten people.

It may be because of the favorable location. He is an early customer. There are only three or five people in Nuo Da's restaurant, but they don't look like customers, but waiters in the restaurant. , stood up one after another.

Seeing the appearance of the person closest to him, Wendell turned his head and wanted to leave, because he was an acquaintance, a very familiar person, a young waiter Ayler who had worked in his small shop for two years.

The meeting on this occasion made him feel very embarrassed, because the store was not well managed, and he fired the other party before closing, and he always felt that he owed the other party something.

Boss? Mr. Wendell? You are here, please come inside, please come inside.

The young waiter Aile also recognized Wendell, and quickly walked up to him with a smile on his face.

What a coincidence. I heard that you live nearby. I've always wanted to take the time to visit you, but I was afraid it would be too abrupt. I didn't expect to meet you. It's the first time. I don't feel used to it for the first time. Wait for more Just a few times, we have all kinds of noodles here, good quality and cheap, big bowl of noodles, coarse grain steamed buns, porridge and pickles, I strongly recommend the big bowl of noodles, only two coppers are enough to fill you up, useful for a day Endless strength.

The young waiter was as enthusiastic as Wendell remembered. The other party was born to do this job. If it wasn't for the fact that his shop couldn't support it, he would have been reluctant to fire him. Everyone recognized him. If he left again, it would be even more embarrassing. up.

Wendell sat down nearby, and said with a slightly stiff smile, Thank you very much, just a big bowl of noodles as you mentioned, I'm still in a hurry to catch up with work, it's best to hurry up.

Okay, you will be there later.

The young waiter, Aile, had very numb hands and feet. Before Wendell sat down, he had already wiped the spotless log table and bench with the sackcloth on his shoulder, and at the same time greeted the inside.

Big bowl of noodles, more noodles and less soup, enough oil and water. This is my former boss, my family, and I must not lose money.

Aile, the young waiter, quickly ran to the corner where they used to eat, brought a small plate over, and said in a low voice, Sir, this is the pickled vegetable soup that was just made, and the owner of this shop manages it for free. It hasn't been touched yet, don't you If you don’t like it, just drink some bar mat first, I know what it’s like to be hungry, and this time of the day is the hardest.”

I can't do this, I can't do it, I ate it, what do you eat? Wendell repeatedly declined.

Sir, this is not a stranger. What do we do here? Restaurant, I go to the back kitchen all day and night, and I have a close relationship. I can always pick out my bite. Look, I just came here for a week. , The whole person has gained weight.

Ellerby, the young waiter, stroked his thin arm.

My current boss is as friendly as Mr. Wendell. He doesn't care about what our own people eat. Try it. The salty soup tastes good. I'll watch from the back. I can't let those cunning guys cut corners and eat a few bites.

Thank you. Wendell felt warm on his body, wondering if it was because of the black flint fireplace burning in the restaurant.

...

The currency of the Byron Empire is on the silver standard. Although there are gold coins in circulation, they are more valuable. Most of them are traded among nobles. Ordinary citizens may not have the opportunity to deal with gold coins throughout their lives. They often use silver coins. And copper coins, because copper coins look like a flat stone, they are also called copper coins.

The exchange rate between copper coins and silver coins fluctuates between 100 to 1, while the ratio of silver coins to gold coins is 12 to 1. The fluctuation is directly related to the minting level and content of silver and gold coins. There are silver Byron coins and gold Byron coins, but there are obvious differences between the printings of different military leaders.

The most recognized and most popular on the continent is not the royal gold coins printed by the royal family of Lancelot, the actual ruler of the Byron Alliance, but the twin gold coins of the Harrison family from the North Island of the Twin Islands, which have a secret meeting of witches As the backstage, they have the best purification and printing technology in the whole continent. Gemini gold coins are also called witch gold coins.

Not only are there differences between silver coins and gold coins, but even copper coins. There are differences in the exchange of copper coins produced by different military leaders. For example, the Manyu copper coins produced by the Manyu army leader have poor technology, more impurities, and are easy to break , which is not popular in other territories and has a relatively low value.

It is normal for a thousand Manyu copper coins to be used as 900 or even 800 local copper coins in other territories, but this kind of trouble is only for those merchants. Ordinary people have long been accustomed to the purchasing power of copper coins in their own territories. Feel the difference.